Let Bygones Be Bygones
by DemeterLin
Summary: Seven months ago, Leilani gave herself away to a guy she had been crushing on, only to have him drop off the face of the earth and never contact her again. Little did she know, Embry never intended for it to be a one night stand. But how can he explain to her the true reason to his disappearance after she returns, if he can at all? Reader x Embry New Moon & Eclipse
1. Chapter 1: Run Ins

_"Don't forget the barbecue sauce, Jared. Paul managed to finish it with the rest of the food he ate last night,_ _ **even after I told him that we needed it for the food tonight."**_ Emily's voice raised towards the end of the sentence, purposely to scold the culprit who was most likely over Sam and Emily's place right now.

"Yeah yeah, I got it. I'm at the store now so it shouldn't take too long." My feet carried me along the isles of the small, local food store as my eyes glanced around for the item I was searching for. I stopped right in front of the dressings and condiments, grabbing a bottle of BBQ sauce with my free hand. "Alright, barbecue sauce acquired, anything else before leave?"

 _"Nope, that's all for now. If anything I'll send Paul to get whatever else we need."_ A chuckle escaped my lips as I said goodbye, hanging up the phone and stowing it away in the back pocket of my jeans. The line wasn't a long wait, just a couple of people ahead of me at the checkout: an elderly man and some chick wearing a hoodie.

There was another bonfire being held tonight. It would be Quil, Seth, and Leah's first time attending, and if I remembered correctly, that vampire girl that Jacob's been obsessing over would be coming too. Paul and I tell him to shut up with his constant yammering about her but it's not only Jacob we have to deal with, it's Embry as well.

That poor kid has been doing whatever he could for the past six months to keep himself busy; especially running shifts around the borders. Lately theres been a hint of leech floating around that we can't pin point and he's been on it's case, more so than anyone. To be honest, I don't think I've seen him just sitting down and resting much, if at all. It took Quil and Jacob everything to convince him to take a break from patrol tonight and to go listen to the legends. I can't blame him for hurting, though. If it's just as Sam shows us, imprinting is a really big deal.

See, the whole situation is that sometime during last school year, Embry had imprinted on-

 _"Ma'am! Your receipt!"_ The hooded figure turned around to reveal an all too familiar face I would call kin: the same tanned skin, kind brown eyes, full lips that lifted into a smile was before me. The only noticeable difference was her hair. It used to fall in soft dark brown waves, but now her face was framed by a straight bob that ended near her collar bones.

"Lani?"

Just like that, all the familiarity went away as she turned to look at me, acknowledging my presence for the first time in months. I was able to read the flashes of fear, panic, and then hesitancy that flowed through her eyes. She gave me a tight lipped smile, the corner of her lip lifting into a sideways grin. She lifted a hand and gave me a meek wave.

"Hey, Jare."

I placed the bottle of barbecue on the counter as I rushed to give my cousin a tight hug, mindful not to crush her. I pulled away to look at her, her features more defined and inches added to her height. I ignored the clerk who cleared his throat, he could wait. "How've you been? Where the hell have you been? Still kickboxing? How's Auntie Ana? Cadence?"

Her mouth opened, as if she were trying to process the questions and answer them in the same order. The clerk cleared his throat one more time as he held the receipt out to her. Her brown eyes averted to his outstretched hand, retrieving the receipt with a thankful smile. He began ringing up my item, telling me the total after a quick scan.

"Give me one second." I told her as I reached for my wallet to pay the clerk. Leilani threw me an apologetic grin as she slipped the plastic bag handle up to her elbow, her hands shoved into her pockets.

"I'm sorry, Jare. I've got to go." She turned and exited the store in a rush while I fumbled with the coins that spilled out of my wallet. Great. Perfect timing. I didn't even bother with the coins as I slammed a five dollar bill to the counter, grabbing the bottle and rushing after my cousin while shouting behind me, "Keep the change!"

"Lani!" I hollered halfway out the door. "Leilani!" My head turned from side to side as I caught her entering the driver seat of her car. "Lani wait!" My hand caught her door before she closed it. "What's going on? Why are you acting like this?"

"Look," she bit her bottom lip before turning to face me in her seat. "I love you. You're my cousin and one of my best friends. There's just been a lot happening and I'd rather not talk about it." Before I could push the subject further, she cut me off. "Can you just… do me a favor and not tell anyone I was here, or that you saw me at all?"

I let out scoff. "You mean Embry?" Her silence confirmed my suspicions. "Look, I don't know exactly what happened between you two, but whatever it was, it's in the past. Can't you just move on? The kid's been a mess-"

"Jared-"

"They're having a bonfire tonight and I think you should go-"

"Jared."

"If it makes you feel better I won't tell him you're going, unless you want me to so you guys can make up-"

"Jared!" Her anger filled voice cut me off as I stared at her with wide eyes. "I'm-I'm sorry."She took a few deep breaths as she gripped the steering wheel. " I just. I don't want anything to do with him right now."

My shoulders dropped as I stared at her with worry. This wasn't the spitfire that I grew up with. The girl who was practically my sister wasn't this timid. Something in her had changed. Something had happened. "Lani," I put a hand to her shoulder. "You were gone for half the year, left without a trace, no goodbye, nothing. I had to hear from Cadence that you left, after she thought that I knew." My brows furrowed as I thought that I might have been looking at things wrong. "Did Embry do something? Did he hurt you?"

She softly shook her head, a bitter laugh coming from her. "No. He did nothing. No one did anything." She paused, meeting my eyes again as she gave me a small, sad smile. "Maybe we can catch up some other time, cuz."

"Yeah," I gave her shoulder a small squeeze as I let her pull away and close the door of the car, but not before warning her. "But don't think I'll let this go! You've got a lot of explaining to do!"

She gave me a glimpse of the familiar warm smile she used to don on her face as she waved goodbye. I watched as she drove down the road, heading towards where I remembered she used to live, a place that is long overdue for my visit.

Well shit, how did she expect not to be seen in this small town? Or between that wolf-link my pack brothers and I shared?

* * *

 **Hey guys! My first story in over 6 years :D**

 **Just a heads up, this story will be long and well developed. I'll try my best to follow the main plot of what goes on during the books but it might deviate a little between that and the films.**

 **Please let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2: Cameron Women Want to Kill Me

\- Jared's POV - 1 Year Ago –

The gravel crunched under the weight of my truck as I pulled up to the familiar house of my Auntie Anami. It was a small, two story home painted a pale blue with gray accents of window panels and rooftop. I opened the front door unannounced as I had many times before, and was immediately greeted with the smell of breakfast overwhelming my nose. My feet followed the trail, leading me into the kitchen where I found my older cousin of four years, Cadence.

She was a tall, tanned woman with chocolate colored eyes. Her long black hair was in soft waves that bounced with every rushed step she took. She was in mid conversation, my presence unnoticed as she let out a laugh into the phone.

"Yeah, I could've sworn I set my alarm but really I somehow must've accidentally put my phone on silent last night."

I propped myself to lean casually against the entrance of the kitchen. "Running late as usual, Cay?" A small shriek was my reply as she jumped, turning to me and slapping me with a stack of papers that were held in one hand.

"I've got to go Rachel, my cousin just showed up." She bid her goodbyes, hanging up and putting her phone into the purse on the counter. "How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that! I could have a knife one day and accidentally stab you." She mumbled under her breath, "though that doesn't seem like a bad idea."

My hand was held against my chest in fake shock as I took in a dramatic gasp of air. "Here I am, early in the morning, doing you a favor and you plot my murder, right in front of me no less!"

Cadence rolled her eyes at my antics as gave me a pat on the head with her free hand, despite myself towering over her. "You know I do this out of love, you're practically my little brother."

My arms crossed over my chest as I rolled my eyes. "Your 'little' brother who's taller than you."

"I understand, you're a sophomore in highschool now, you're growing up and having your… unnaturally large growth spurts. Just do me a favor," She turned to me, grabbing her bag from the counter in the process and sliding the papers into it. "Just stay away from drugs okay? Any taller and I'll mistake you for a giraffe on steroids." She gave me a teasing grin before checking her watch for the time. "Anyways, I'm running late for this meeting. I'm supposed to meet the doctor I'm going to shadow this next semester. But hey, just incase I get scheduled early in the mornings could you do me a solid and…" She pouted her lips and gave me a hopeful look.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll give her rides to school until she gets that piece of metal on the road. Where is she by the way?" She pointed with her lips towards the window. I didn't have to turn to see the separate garage through the glass. "Gotcha. Now run along before you're more late than you already are." I waved her off as she began walking backwards, towards the door.

"Thanks again for taking Lani to school for me! There's breakfast plated and ready for you guys on the stove. See 'ya Jare!" She turned and exited the house, a muffled "bye Lani" heard afterwards, followed by the start of her engine.

I swiveled around, exiting the kitchen through the side door that lead towards the garage. Despite the number of times I've hung out with Leilani here, it's one of those places that I could never get tired of.

On the right side towards the back corner, hung a heavy punching and bag, a few pairs of gloves both worn and new laid in a crate beside it. Near the front right-corner, next to the entrance where I stood was a small TV atop a short bookshelf, two equally sized speakers placed on either side for the radio on one of the shelves. In between the bag and the TV was a bench press.

On the left side of the garage there was a '66 911 Porsche. It had a few rust stains on the hood and top, and missing the front two tires as it was propped on two jack stands. Against the left wall was a wooden table, half the tools scattered about the table while the other half was still in the toolbox.

The place was pretty much half-gym and half-garage. No doubt most of these things were left behind by her late dad, my uncle Theo. He passed away when Leilani and I were both ten years old, from the same car accident Jacob Black's mom passed away in. From what I know, Uncle Theo was giving her a lift somewhere and a truck managed to t-bone them. The car swerved off the road and they crashed into a stone railing.

Leilani told me before that it's hard for Cadence and their mom to stay in the garage for long, so it's mostly just her in here. At least, when I'm not around. Their mom, my Auntie Anami, is gone 4 days out of the week. She travels around as a financial planner for growing companies, though most of the time it's in Seattle, so it's not too far.

Underneath the metal heap poked out two legs. I grinned to myself as I walked towards her, the obliviousness present when running through the blood of both my cousins. I hooked my foott under the cart Leilani laid on, sliding her out with a tug. I crouched down to her eye level while wiping a grease stain from her cheek across her forehead.

"Alright little grease monkey. I've been sent to fetch you so we can get to school." I peaked down at the watch on my wrist. "You've still got time to shower so I suggest you do so now."

Leilani laughed as she sat up from her position, grabbing my arm for support to stand. She dusted her hands together, wiping them across the pants of her dirty sweats. "Shower? I'm going to school just like this." Her arms spread out as I looked her up and down with mock disgust.

"Please, you smell worse than grandpa's farts ."

Her eyes squinted, pulling a wrench from behind her as she waved it threateningly towards me. "Watch it Jare, don't make me use this against you."

I held my hands up in surrender. " What is up with the women in this family trying to kill me? And how come you haven't been inviting me over more often? Have you no love for your flesh and blood?"

She rolled her eyes in response. "As if you need an invite to come over. Besides, Cay threatened to sell me off to help pay for the food supply. She says every time we eat, we go through a weeks worth of grocery in a day."

"She eats like a bird, of course everything seems big in proportion to what she eats!"

We continued our conversation for another minute before heading back into the house; Leilani upstairs to take a shower and myself to the kitchen, eating my breakfast while waiting for her to finish.

Twenty minutes passed before we headed off to school. It wasn't too far from where she lived, about a ten minute drive, but we were running late so we had to skip going to our respected lockers before class. We shared our first period together, the ever so entertaining U.S. History. Please, note the sarcasm.

We entered the classroom, barely making it on time before the late bell rang. She sat in her seat, next to the window, and I sat beside her. It wasn't even 10 minutes that class had started before she nudged me by the elbow and pointed with the back of her pencil to the person next to me, Kim. She leaned in to whisper. "Look, she's already starting." Leilani has it in her head that Kim has a thing for me, though I don't really see it.

My eyes glanced to the other girl next to me, just catching her direct her stare somewhere else. I shook my head slightly, leaning back towards my cousin. "You'd think after a month of school, you telling me this at least 3 times a day would be enough."

Leilani gave me a shit-eating grin. "It's never enough."

"Oh don't take out your frustration on me because your boyfriend isn't here." Her paled face gave me the satisfying pleasure of getting back at her. "Or maybe you're just too excited to see him in gym class while he's all sweaty. ' _Oh Embry'-_ " She smacked a hand to my mouth as she looked around. I saw her eyes land on Jacob Black who sat across the room.

"Shut up Jared!" She loudly hushed me before lowering her voice. "I don't want anyone to know about this, let alon _his best friend_." She removed her hand from my face. "You're already not helping me in our last period. I don't want things to be awkward between us."

"I'm just trying to help my little cousin out."

She sat back in her seat, defeated. "Three months doesn't make a big difference, idiot."

The teacher hushed the class, putting our conversation on hold and leaving me to my thoughts. Leilani had the biggest crush on Embry Call. It was amusing, unfortunately for her it was at my dispense. Our last period was chemistry and we had to sit in alphabetical order. Although both our last names are Cameron, my first name beginning with the letter 'J' was the reason I sat with him at our table, while she sat at another table with a girl named Katie, beside me.

True to my word, I did try to help her out whenever I could, dropping a few hints every now and then. As well as a few embarrassing stories. Or whenever we were able to freely choose our partners, I'd suggest he work with Leilani, if either Jacob or Quil hadn't already taken him. I wouldn't be doing this if she woman'd up and just told him straight out how she felt. She does this thing where she gives her crush a code name. In this case, Embry was "Gordon". So when people ask her if she's interested in anyone she says Gordon instead of Embry. It's her way of 'masking the truth'. You can imagine the confusion for the boy if he ever reciprocated her hidden feelings.

But oh man, she's such a spazz when it comes to him. One time in class, we were dissecting a frog and I happened to strike up a casual conversation with him. Of course Leilani happened to over hear me but really, asking anyone if they're interested in someone, wasn't that big of a deal. Right before he could answer me, I heard Katie shriek. All eyes turned towards their table as Leilani stiffly held the scalpel, embedded deep within the frog, with eyes locked on me. Katie had a small splatter of frog guts across her goggles. I never let her live that one down.

I had to smother the oncoming laugh with my hand, the memory fresh in my head. The rest of the class was boring lecture. Our teacher held us even after the bell rang. He was one of those "I dismiss you, not the bell" types of teachers.

Movement from the door's window caught my eye as a tall figure peered inside. Paul Lahote. His eyes stopped its' searching as he smirked and waved. From the corner of my eye I saw Leilani wave back. It's not that I didn't like him. It's just that Paul gets around, if you catch my drift, and it makes me uncomfortable knowing who that's the other person that she calls her best friend. With the exception of Leilani, we hang out with other groups of people. If it weren't for her or living in a small town, I wouldn't know who he was. Call me over protective, but if it weren't for her devoted crush to Embry, I could've sworn that they were on the verge of going out.

Five minutes later we were dismissed, and I exited the room with a quick bye for my cousin and a nod towards Lahote.

A shoulder knocked into me, the person nearly stumbling backwards to the ground. "Oh hey, sorry man." My hand was held out, offering to help the guy up.

"How bout instead of watching your cousin turn into another notch on Lahote's belt, you watch where the hell you're going?"

My brows furrowed as my hands reached back and lifted this guy off the floor by his collar, slamming him into the lockers behind him. No one talks about my family like that. His eyes winced as I pushed him further into the metal, my face lowered to his eye level. His whimper went deaf to my ears as I leaned closer to him, my voice low with threat. "What the _hell_ did you just say?"

* * *

 **Two chapters in one night. Originally these two were supposed to be put together as one but I thought it'd be better if I broke it up.**

 **On another note, I've had this story in my head for a while. I started typing it up but my computer crashed and I had to start over on my iPad T_T**

 **I want to edit some photos and upload them somewhere to give better visuals of what I've been imagining, but again, I can't do so until my laptop is fixed. In the meanwhile, for those of you that are wondering what my OC characters look like, my muses are Nicole Gale Anderson (Leilani) and Shay Mitchell (Cadence).**


	3. Chapter 3: Breakfast

**Sorry for the long wait, it's finals week for me so lately I've had a lot of projects kicking my butt. Luckily that means school will be done soon and more chapters will come out~**

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\- Paul's POV -

 _'Well look who's actually on time for once.'_ Even in my wolf form, the roll of my eyes and the huff of air I let out, didn't go unnoticed towards the other wolf's thoughts. I had just arrived to relieve Embry of his shift and do the last few rounds before the bonfire tonight.

 _'And here I thought you loved to run patrol with the way you've been going nonstop.'_ The image of his wolf rolling his eyes in response flashed through my mind. _'Jared here yet?'_

 _'No, but Quil left right before you shifted.'_

 _'Oh man oh man oh man.'_ There he is. I could feel the restlessness emanate from Jared's being, even miles away. It was times like this that I hated having this telepathic-wolf-link-mind-thing. It was setting my nerves on edge.

 _'Sorry man. I can't help it.'_

 _'What's got you all riled up?'_

I felt the magnitude of the tenseness increase, Jared's thoughts suddenly changing to what he had for breakfast today: bacon, waffles, and half a dozen muffins, before his reply.

 _'Just craving a repeat meal of what I had for breakfast.'_

Bullshit.

Whether that was my, Embry's, or a combination of both of our thoughts simultaneously at the same time, I'll never know. Embry didn't question it any further and I soon felt him shift out of the link. It didn't take a second later for the unsettled nerves to come back. _'Alright you need to tell me what's going on.'_

I felt a wave of hesitancy before images finally flashed into my mind. An all too familiar face was one of the many things among them. My running came to a halt as I processed the information. _'Leilani's back.'_ My best friend gone missing, is now back. I continued my original trail, veering off to enter a clearing in the forest and coming face to face with the brown fur of Jared. _'Are you going to tell Embry?'_

 _'She didn't want me to tell anyone, but you know how hard it is to keep secrets in this pack. I'm torn, man. You're both my family. If I tell Embry, I'm betraying Leilani. If I keep it a secret like she asked, then I'm betraying Embry. There's no win-win!'_ Jared let out a small whine as his ears flattened, unsure of what to do.

I gave him a small nudge with my nose; the wolf equivalent of a pat on the back. _'Regardless of what happens, they'll forgive you. Like you said; we're family.'_ My thoughts began to wander, curiosity on the chance of her being home. _'I'm going to stop by.'_ I ignored Jared's attempted protests, speeding off towards where I remembered her to be. _'She's near my route anyways. It's not like I'm going out of my way.'_

The cozy pale blue house came to my view, the same as the last time I remembered it. The wolfish grin fell off my face however, as a small hint of uneasiness wafted into my sense of smell. It was small but it was definitely there. Without a second thought I shifted back into my human form, changing into the cutoff jeans that was tied around my leg by a chord. I hurriedly marched to the front door, knocking with an accelerated tempo that I tried to calm down. I waited for about two minutes before the door opened, revealing Cadence. My thoughts were derailed for the slightest moment as that same tang hit my nostrils. I composed myself, remembering why I came in the first place.

"Hey, is Leilani home?"

It was quick, but the way her body went rigid for a millisecond answered my question, despite the hesitant 'No' that I received. I thanked her, pausing before I asked her another question.

"Where were you today?"

The look she gave me was anticipated. Hell, If my little sister's friend that I barely talked to asked me that, I'd look at them like they grew a second head as well. I could feel her asking me 'Why's it any of your business?' through that raised eyebrow of hers. She settled a hand on her hip, finally giving me an answer.

"I was at work all day, nosey."

My concern didn't allow for my usual smirk. I nodded, turning to make my way back into the forest line where I could shift out of view to unwanted eyes.

Something was going on and I had many questions in my head. I felt myself grow angry in frustration, my bones crackling, hair erupting all over my body as I transitioned. Not a second after and Jared already had a question for me.

 _'She wasn't home?'_

I shook my head, projecting my previous actions into his mind. _'No. But remember that trail we couldn't pinpoint that leech on?'_

 _'Yeah?'_

 _'I smelled it, at her house. The bloodsucker's stench was all over Cadence.'_

* * *

"It doesn't make sense; If they came onto our land we would've smelled them right away and taken them out. Does Cadence not know that she's been hanging out around one?" Jared's concern over his cousin was apparent as we stood off to the side from the others at the bonfire. Sam, Jared, Quil, Leah, Seth and I were talking about my recent discovery earlier today. The pregnant silence grew as we listened to the faint crackle of the bonfire. We were still waiting for a few others to arrive, namely Embry and Jacob with that vamp girl.

Leah crossed her arms over her chest, deep in thought. "She works at the hospital in Forks right? What if it's that Doctor Leech you're smelling."

I shook my head. "No, I know his scent and that wasn't it."

A brief look of fear crossed her face, an angry expression following soon afterwards. Her voice grew deep with animosity as she nearly charged towards me as if I were the enemy. "I swear if it's that red headed bitch-"

Sam put an arm out to halt her in her tracks. "Leah, calm down!"

Leah directed that anger as she pushed him back. "She was your friend too! Or did you stop caring about everyone else after you imprinted-"

"Enough."

Leah's voice ceased at Sam's alpha command. She glared at him and crossed her arms as she shook her head in disbelief. She left our group and headed to take a seat at the logs besides her mother.

I raised an eyebrow between the two, letting the awkward air dissipate before I carried on. "It wasn't the red-head either. This was another scent, something we've never come across before."

The crunching of leaves alerted us that someone else had arrived. Our heads turned to see Embry join in our circle. "Sorry, I overslept."

Quil chuckled, "It's about time you've had some sleep."

Embry shook his head with a lopsided grin, acknowledging the group with a nod. "So..." He started off awkwardly. "What did I miss? The usual Sam and Leah beef?"

I snickered at the look Sam threw Embry. Jared was still tense about the situation, but no one could blame him. His fist pressed against his lips in ponder. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"During our rounds today, Paul picked up a lead on that scent we weren't able to pinpoint."

Embry's eyes squinted, knowing there was more to be told.

"He followed it to my cousin's house. Cadence answered the door and he could smell it all over her. There's a vampire hanging around her, but it's smart enough not to tread on our lands."

"What are we going to do?"

"During patrol we're going to have someone keep an eye on the house, make sure whatever that thing is, that it doesn't follow her back home." Sam voiced in.

"Embry," The boy in question turned his attention back to Jared. "I need to ask you one thing."

"Yeah, go ahead."

Jared let the question hang in suspense, repositioning his stance to face him fully. Oh this was going to be good.

"What happened between you and Leilani back then?"

Embry held his gaze before breaking eye contact, looking away and staying silent. Jared took a few steps closer to him. "Look man, I get that it's a sore subject, but this is my cousin we're talking about. We just found out that something has been hovering over Cadence after all this time."

"What does that have to deal with Leilani? I've told you a hundred times that what happened between us was just a big misunderstanding. I'm sure whatever you're feeling, I'm feeling it a hundred times worse. She's _my_ Imprint. Maybe it's better that she's not here right now."

My eyes watched as Jared's fist tightened into a ball. He was fighting his anger. I can see the battle he was having. Tell him. Don't tell him. Ah, shit he's getting closer to Embry. Another argument was going to start. I put a hand on Jared's shoulder, pulling him back.

"That's where you're wrong." Jared stared at me with wide eyes. Technically if _I_ say it, Leilani wouldn't get mad at him for telling and Embry finds out. It's a win win. Lani will forgive me later, she always does. My gaze met Embry's confused one. "She's back. I saw her at the store earlier today." I had to stop myself from adding, _through Jared's thoughts_. "If that vampire follows Cadence home, then Lani's-" I didn't even get a chance to finish before Embry took off running, the sound of shredding clothes evidence of himself phasing.

Our eyes lingered to where Embry previously stood. Jared voicing his thoughts out loud. "Do you think he'll ever tell us?"

Quil shook his head, concerned over his best friend. "Isn't it obvious why she left? She felt abandoned. One by one we left her because we phased and had to stay away. First Jared, then Paul, Embry, Jake, and I."

We were all sure that Embry was the reason, but Quil's explanation was reasonable. I could feel the air grow heavy. If it _was_ true, then we were all the reason why she left. We were all guilty. I turned to Quil, lifting my chin towards him.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because I was the last one to phase in our group. If it weren't for everyone else leaving and keeping their distance, I wouldn't have gotten close to her. Think about it. Jared phased and kept his distance so she hung out with you. Once you were gone, she started to hang out with me, Jake, and Embry. When it came down to just the two of us, we made a promise to always stick together."

I looked over to Jared, looking just as guilt ridden as I did.

"She broke everytime someone close to her stopped hanging around. At one point she started to blame herself, thinking that something was wrong with _her_."

God damn it. We needed to fix this. I looked at Sam, staring hard into space.

Jared spoke before I could even open my mouth. "Sam. She needs to know."

Sam nodded slowly nodded his head. "Embry needs to tell her."

"But I'm her family-"

"At least, let him try first." Sam interrupted. "Pack traditions. The imprint needs to tell his imprintee. If that fails, then you can tell her Jared. We'll finish this conversation later. Jake's here now and it's time for Billy to start telling the legends for the newcomers."

With a nod, we followed his lead towards the fire, sitting around it.

There's only an amount of times something can break before it stays damaged.


	4. Chapter 4: Flirting 101

**Guess who's on break ?**

 **Also, for those of you waiting for Leilani's POV chapter, it's coming up soon. So bear with me for just a little bit longer.**

* * *

\- Paul's POV - 1 year ago -

Just as every gym period started, the teacher waited for all of the students to exit their respective locker rooms and gather on the bleachers inside the school's gymnasium for attendance. I took my usual seat near the back on the top row, sprawled lazily against the wall as I waited for Leilani to grace me with her presence.

No, I wasn't saying that last part unsarcastically.

Absentmindedly, I spun the football in my palm and successfully hid the mini panic attack when I thought it was going to spin out of my hand and onto my face.

"I totally saw that."

I scowled as I sat up and faked a throw at Leilani, unsatisfied at her lack of reaction. She rolled her eyes and threw a playful punch at my shoulder and sat beside me. My shoulder shoved into hers in response. A few more students trickled into the gym and onto the bleachers as the coach began calling out the attendance, his voice drowning out while I recalled my friendship with the Quileute girl.

We met last year in math, another class we managed to share each other in again besides this one. I was doing just as well as I was in freshman year, which wasn't so hot at all. See, while I genuinely struggled with learning and understanding these mathematical concepts, Leilani was just lazy. Or blatantly lucky. (I still haven't figured it out yet) You can understand my frustration when I get a a test back and see a bold red 'D' written at the top from a session of studying. Meanwhile Leilani gets a 'B' (or sometimes even an 'A') when during that same session she busied herself with throwing skittles at my head to see how far they would bounce off of my temple.

Ok so maybe half an hour of studying the night before each test doesn't do much but you get my point, the effort was there.

We ended up bonding over mediocre insults bantered back and forth between one another. Leilani was another guy to me, one of the dudes. A hot one, but we both agreed we weren't each other's type: hers being lanky, long haired, butt-chinned-

"Lahote"

I felt a jab to my side as I lifted a chin towards the coach with a half raised hand, "Sup." Coach looked down to his clipboard, checking my name off as he continued with the roster. I turned towards my best friend and raised a brow towards her. A hand lifted itself towards where her bony elbow shanked my side, not voicing my complaint to for her satisfaction. "So what's new with you, Squirt?" My hand moved to mess her hair.

She let out a huff of air as she pushed my hand away from her, attempting to flatten the hairs on her head before choosing to redo her ponytail. "Funny. I should be calling _you_ that since a little birdy won't stop tweeting all over the interwebs about what happened this passed weekend after your date."

My face scrunched in confusion. She was more into the social networking than I was, if you could say that she was into it at all. "Wait, Rosa called me small?" That definitely means that this was the sad gossip being spread around the school today. Of course _I_ knew whatever she was spreading would be lies, and I'd be more than glad to prove whoever girl challenged me wrong.

"Mm not so much a description of you more so than what you had her doing."

I felt myself smirk, my chest puffing out a bit in pride. Leilani saw this and gave me a disgusted look as she smacked a hand against my pecks, trying to deflate my ego. I held me smirk and gave her a look through squinted eyes. "Jealous, Lani?"

She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall, taking the football from me and bouncing it back and forth between her hands. "Please, I'm just disturbed by the mental images she gave me while I overheard her reiterate every tweet she posted, in the locker room. I've got to admit though, that girl's got a way with words and illustration."

I spotted Rosa on the opposite side of the bleachers and caught her glance, throwing her a wink at her flirty smile. My response to Leilani was unfiltered as I remembered Saturday night very...clearly. "Oh yeah, she's very detailed with her words."

Leilani made a gagging noise, snapping me towards her attention as she childishly continued to fake an oncoming vomit. I looked away exasperated, before turning back with a devious idea. I quickly took one of her hands, folding it into a fist and held it a few inches from her mouth before returning my hands to my side and calling out "Yo, Embry!"

It happened too fast for her to comprehend the position she was in. Her gaze shifted to follow where mine was, eventually catching Embry's very amusing gaze. I smothered the oncoming snicker in my throat, looking at her. She was frozen on the spot like a deer in headlights with her fisted hand held in front of her opened mouth.

The look on her face as she finally came to a realization was just an encore for entertainment. I threw my head back as I turned away, laughing at the red glow of her cheeks that could rival Rudolph's nose on a stormy night. She snapped out of her position and fixed herself, awkwardly waving towards him as she shoved the football in my gut and stood from her seat. Luckily for her the coach had finished roll call and ushered for everyone to start doing something active (ironically while he took a seat). She turned to look at me with cut eyes as she started making her way down the steps of the bleachers.

"C'mon Lahote. Let's go out and play football so I can tackle the hell out of you."

I chuckled as I stood up, following after her to the doors. "If it's pent up frustration you have, I can think of other ways I can help you out with that." If I wasn't paying any attention, I would've walked into the door she attempted to quickly shut in my face.

Luckily after teams were picked, halfway through the game she got her fill of tackling me in-game, and beaming the ball at me while I wasn't looking during time-outs. It was the fourth down with the ball on my side when I switched my position to quarterback. I sneered at the look Leilani was giving me, telling her it wasn't because of her looking for any excuse to throw me into the dirt. (I don't care what anyone says about girls and sports, Leilani on the field was a monster.) I called hut after everyone dispersed around, as usual no one following the plan we made in the previous huddle. I saw Leilani eyeing me with a malicious grin, counting the seconds until she could blitz me and take me down. My eyes caught Embry's arms as they waved for his opening. I didn't hesitate, throwing the ball back and launching it towards him. I let out a gruff cheer as he caught it and began running, jetting dodges between a few people that tried to catch him. He was about 15 yards away from the endzone before my little speed demon of a best friend clutched her arms around him in a tackle. Their ending position was a bit stereotypical as she sat on top of him, their chests heaving for air as they tried to settle their breathing.

She laughed lightly, "Not so bad, your legs got you pretty far, Call."

In return, Embry pretended to lose his ability to breath as he faked his struggle to move. "Help... can't...breathe."

I shook my head, Embry definitely needed to up his flirting game. I'd have to remind myself to offer him some pointers in the locker room. Maybe in exchange for talking to that Katie girl he had chemistry with. It would be a win-win for Leilani and I. I called out her name and jogged towards them, saving Embry from further embarrassment.

"Yo, Lani." I ran next to her with an offered hand. "Practicing position for Gordon?" She grimaced as she stood on her own, pushing me with a huff. Embry got up quickly after her, pursing his lips into what looked like a forced grin before nodding and heading back to the rest of where the players were.

Leilani cut me a look. "Was that necessary?"

"Please, I had to save you two from continuing your painful banter." My voice raised in a higher octave, a poor imitation of my best friend. "Your legs got you pretty far, _Call."_ I drawled out his name in exaggeration. "At least you know that both of you don't know how to flirt."

Her protest was interrupted as another classmate of ours jogged up to us, coming to a stop in front of Leilani. I couldn't for the life of me remember his name. Carl? Chris? "Hey, did you hear what happened to your cousin?"

"No, what happened Tristen?"

I was close enough.

"He got in a fight with one of the seniors on the lacrosse team and got suspended."

"Suspended?!" Her mouth fell agape. "What the hell has gotten into him? Is he alright?"

Tristen shuffled and repositioned his weight from one leg to the other. "Yeah, he's fine. It's the other guy I'd be worried about. Apparently he looked pretty messed up."

Leilani's shoulders relaxed when she heard that her cousin was fine with little to no damage. She threw her hands into the air, frustration radiating off of her. "That idiot! That freaking dodo brain!"

I mentally chuckled at her choice of kindergarten cursing.

"That doodoo buttface- How am I supposed to get to and from school now?!"

I shook my head as I threw a casual arm around her shoulders. "Say no more, your best friend's got you."

She leaned her head on my shoulder and let out a sigh. "Thank you, Paul."

"We can use the time to teach you how to flirt properly."

"Goddamnit Paul."


	5. Chapter 5: Do I Wanna Know?

**Here it is, Leilani's POV!**

 **Also, I'm going to be combining the present day and flashback portions together in this chapter. Warning, this is the longest chapter yet.**

 **Let me know if you'd prefer it the other way.**

* * *

\- Leilani's POV - Present Day -

 _'_ _I dreamt about you nearly every night this week_  
 _How many secrets can you keep'_  
 _'Cause there's this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow'_

Arctic Monkey's Do I Wanna Know played from the stereo in my dimly lit room as I sat nestled in the corner of where my bean bag chair lie, besides my bed. The evening sky lost it's sun, the only source of light now being the Christmas lights that hung along the top of one of my walls as well as a single scented candle on the window sill. My gaze was fixated out the window, giving me a view of my backyard that lined the edge of the forest. The crisp autumn leaves were beginning to pile. I snuggled into my blanket wrapped around me, leaning against the throw pillow separating my head from the wall. If I was someone else and walked into myself in this situation, I would've commented on how melodramatic I was being.

"Aren't you being a little dramatic?"

My sister's predictive comment flew past me as she leaned her body against my door frame. She let out a sigh before pursing her lips and running a hand through her long hair. I heard the pregnant hesitation in the air before she decided to speak again.

"You're only a few boxes left from finishing up unpacking. I could always help you if you'd like?"

I shook my head slightly, not looking away from the trees leaning with the breeze. "It's ok. I've got it. Thanks for the offer."

"Your friend Paul stopped by Earlier."

If this was a subject she wasn't sure I wanted to talk about, then my silent reply gave her questioning thoughts confirmation.

I heard her feet shuffle as Cadence made her way into my room, turning down the music as she sat on my bed, facing me. "Look, I get it, you're hurt." She placed a hand on my knee. "They avoided you before and now they want to reach out to you and hang out. But now you're doing exactly what they were doing." She leaned back and retracted her hand. Her tone shifted a bit towards that of a mother scolding their child. "So what? Is this going to be never ending cycle? Are you going to try and be their friend again when you make up your mind that this whole thing is pointless, and then they're going to avoid you once more? Maybe you guys should try and talk things out about where you left off. Y'know, start over or something."

I couldn't bring myself to answer her because currently I was being too stubborn to reply to her. I hated when she used her scolding tone on me no matter how much she may be right.

Another sigh escaped her older sister's lips. "Well look, I'm going to work and then I'll be out with Zeke."

Ah yes, my sister's unofficial beau thing; Ezekiel. I heard the creak of my bed as she got up and made her way out the door, not before popping her head back in. "He still would like to meet you one day, Lani." Her offer hung in the air after she left. My eyes shifted to where she previously stood, the sound of the front door opening and closing, signaling her departure.

I let out a puff of air through my nose, scoffing as I decided to get up from my seat. My feet carried me over towards a small stack of boxes I had yet to unpack. The top box had a shoebox filled with memorabilias or what was left of the memories I brought with me while I was gone. The rest had been left behind or thrown out in my night of anguish before I abruptly left. Peering into the opening, I saw the pictures I previously went through in my first attempt at unpacking.

I couldn't help the smile that brought itself to my face at the photo sitting on the top; it was one of me and a friend I had made with my time over in California. In the photo, I was huddled into the side of my friend Isaac. Our arms were loosely wrapped around one another as we were caught mid-laugh. I remembered another friend of ours, Erica, had taken it after joking around that we looked like a couple. Had the circumstances been different, we could have been. But our flirty nature reminded me of the relationship I had with Paul and I couldn't see him past anything other than a best friend. That, and the tugging I'd feel in my heart if I tried to see something more in him, the feeling of betrayal would register in me. I thumbed the photograph before taking a piece of tape and sticking it beside my full length body mirror, a place I'd see everyday to remind myself to keep in touch with him every now and then. We did make a promise after all.

I reached for the next photo without looking, an old family portrait of Cadence, mom, dad, and myself, placing it under the picture of me and Isaac. After that was a childhood photo of Jared and me, then another of us in freshman year. The next photo brought to my attention reminded me of why I had stopped unpacking in the first place.

It was Embry and I sitting in the open bed of his truck, myself tucked under his arm. My face was looking away from the camera, a pink tinge to my cheeks as Embry was immortalized with a laugh while he looked at me. Quil was behind us, photobombing in a crouch with his hands like reindeer antlers to his head and Jacob's face was awkwardly in the bottom corner, over exposed due to the flash but still capturing his goofy grin in the quickly taken selfie. I can still feel the warmth of Embry's laugh and the vibrating chuckles in his chest as if it were yesterday.

A bittersweet smiled etched itself onto my face and I couldn't bring myself to reach for the tape to place it on my wall. As I placed the photo back in the box I caught another photo of Paul and I after a small game of football (or rather catch since it was just the two of us). He was unamused, a frown on his face that was barely visible due to the mud that covered him. My triumphant grin was from catching him off guard and plowing him into the mush.

I tried to push past these resurfacing emotions but the next one nearly tipped me over the edge.

It was the night of the party where feelings began to unravel between Embry and I. We were outside on the backyard patio of the house party, his forehead resting against mine, the both of us in a buzzed state of bliss before the flash of light alerted us that Quil had taken a picture on his cell.

My jaw clenched as I took the last three images and returned them to the shoebox, covering it, and sliding it under my bed where I wouldn't be reminded with the rest of whatever was in there. I straightened myself, running both of my hands through my hair as I let out a deep breath.

I get that my sister was trying to look out for me, and trying to help me despite the fact that it meant her nose being in my business. She knew what is was like to lose friends but not all of them left her. She only felt a piece of the abandonment that I went through.

My sister had her set of friends; the Black twins: Rachel and Rebecca, and Sam Uley and Leah Clearwater. They were all in the same school, same graduating year. From what I knew the five of them never really hung out all together at once, but she was close with them, regardless.

Like Jacob and I, Cadence and the twins knew each other due to our parents being close friends. Unlike Jacob and I, Cadence and the twins got along smoothly and hung out a lot outside of school, despite the lack of classes they shared. Their friendship strengthened tremendously due to the relatable event with losing a parent.

As for Sam and Leah, Cadence shared a lot of classes with the couple in highschool. From what I could tell, Cay loved Leah's free spirited and determined nature, and the two would often go for morning runs.

I remember the couple of nights when she tried to have them all together at once in our living room for game nights, but many awkward silences would ensue so that left her splitting her time between the four of them.

The sleepovers she had with the twins. The sleepovers she had with Leah. The loud three way phone calls with Sam and Leah, that I'd over hear through our walls.

And then I remember the shift when things started to change.

I remember opening the door to a sobbing Leah, my sister rushing from behind me to comfort her best friend as she cried about her recent breakup and how he's moved on with her own cousin. Her own flesh and blood.

For awhile my sister tried to talk to Sam about it, being the middle friend to get them to at least talking terms. But one day I remembered opening the door just like I had a week prior for Leah, to see Sam towering over me. Only his face was scowled into a frown. My sister came from behind me as I left for my room, slightly being nosy and tuning into their conversation from around the corner. I couldn't catch much but I did hear him clear as day when he told her to stay out of it. From then on he avoided her, Leah came around less often, and the only friends left for my sister was the twins.

My sister went through a down stage once they left for college but luckily for her they kept in touch, and still do. They call each other often in their free time. I think Rebecca is married now and living in Hawaii.

She was able to maintain their friendship, despite their distance. Yet here I was back home, unable to face my friends (... er ex friends?), barely able to face my cousin. I'd admit, I was a bit jealous of my sister and her ability to keep things together.

But how would she be able to help me when it came to my heartache? Six months later and I was still hung up over the same boy I couldn't get out of my head. I blame it on myself for being so infatuated with Embry, but at times I couldn't help but feel like there was a literal tugging at the strings of my heart.

I let out a small growl through gritted teeth; angry at my melodramatics. My sadness evolved into anger as I changed into a tank top and gym shorts. I made my way down and through the kitchen, out the side door into my missed sanctuary. My eyes skimmed over the forgotten car, making my way towards my punching bag as I reached for my gloves and slipped them on. I'd take out all of my frustration here. Everything that I tried to repress for the past six months.

\- Leilani's POV - 1 year ago -

I bid my goodbyes to Paul, closing the door to his car and quickly setting my path to my room. I threw my book bag onto my bed, phone already pulled to my ear as I waited for Jared to answer his cell. By the time the third call reached his voicemail I had decided to call his house phone. It gave a few rings before my uncle answered.

"Hello-"

"Uncle Jeremy, hey! Is Jared home? It's Leilani." I bit my lip, feeling bad for cutting him off in the midst of my anticipation, but my worry for my cousin's suspension was growing. I heard movement on the line, as if he switched the phone to his other ear.

"Hey Leilani, yes Jared's home." His voice was kind, despite my eagerness.

"Great! I'll be over in a few-"

"I don't think that's a good idea." My eyebrows furrowed in questioning, an action unseen through the phone. He continued before I could voice my query. "He's not feeling too well and I think he may have the flu. I wouldn't want you to catch it now and have Ana scold me for not watching out for you."

"It wouldn't be much of a problem, we've hung out plenty of times while he was sick and my immune system's been good enough to keep me nice and healthy." I let out a light laugh, despite its emptiness.

"Leilani, please. I'm trying to watch out for you." There was strange underlying tone to his voice that I couldn't decipher, a bubbling discomfort arising in my gut. "I wouldn't want my brother haunting me if I let something happen to one of his angels."

My lips were pressed together, thankful that he couldn't see my facial expression through the phone. It was a comment meant light heartedly but my worryness for my cousin vanquished the humor in me before it could emerge. I let out a defeated sigh.

"Alright, but tell him to call me as soon as he gets better."

"You got it, sweetheart. I'll let him know."

"Thanks Uncle Jere, I'll talk to you later."

"No problem, Lani. I'll see you around."

He ended the call as I fell back into my bed, my fingers tapping against the back of my phone that laid on top of my stomach. Jared getting into fights wasn't something common. He was more bark than bite, that's for sure. What possessed him to get physical?

The next day I almost forgotten about Jared being absent until he was a no show for first period, as he would be for the rest of the week for his suspension. Kim seemed a bit down too, her long time crush wouldn't be seen for a while. I looked over at her with a small smile that she returned. I never really made small talk with her but why not start now? It'd give me someone to talk to as time passed and maybe after I get to know her I could rope Jared into talking to her too.

My eyes glanced at her notebook that she opened, briefly catching the "Mrs. Cameron" with a heart written in the top right-hand corner.

I mentally rolled me eyes and scoffed. _'She doesn't have a crush on me'_ my ass, Jared.

For the rest of the week Paul had managed to take over being my ride to and from school. I'd help out and give him gas money of course. Despite him refusing I managed to shove the cash into his book bag or glove compartment, one of the two, while he wasn't paying attention.

By the next Wednesday I felt agitated and bothersome. Jared had replied to a few of my texts and even gave a call on Monday, the day he was supposed to come back to school, but he was still a no show. The last conversation we had could be summed up in one sentence: "Stay away from Lahote." Actually, that's pretty much all he said besides 'Trust me, I have my reasons.' Yeah right. He was just being his over protective self just as he was before when he found out how close the two of us had gotten. I could feel myself over thinking; what if he was telling me to stay away from Paul because Paul was getting annoyed with having to give me a ride all the time? My eyes shifted to the muscle head as we got out of the car and arrived on campus.

"I'm sorry."

Paul's brows shot up in confusion at my sudden apology. He squinted his eyes at me before checking himself in the car's side mirror, making sure nothing was placed on or done to him. He checked his back before asking suspiciously, "What did you do?"

I shook my head at him. "I feel bad, clingy almost."

When he realizes a prank wasn't being played on him, he slung his backpack over one shoulder and threw his other arm around me as we walked into the school building. "Chill Lani, I'm just giving you rides, it's no big deal. It's not like I'm taking you out on dates and paying for every single one of them."

I couldn't help the smirk on my face. "You mean like Emma?"

" _Especially_ like Emma. The difference between you and her despite the fact that you at least try to sneak in helping with the pay," he raised a knowing eyebrow towards me throwing him gas money when I thought he didn't notice, "is that you're my best friend. She's just a hook up."

I cut my eyes at him as my the corner of my lips lifted into a half-hearted sneer. "You talk to me about women as if I'm not one."

He laughed and ruffled the top of my hair. "We've talked about this before. You're practically a good looking dude to me."

"Yeah, yeah Lahote. Stop talking before these girls over hear your queerness for me."

"Besides," He removed his hand and let me fix my hair. "You're so much better than these girls that give anything for a good time in bed. You have standards."

My lips curled into a full blown frown, the image of him in bed during sexy time bringing a discomfort in me. It was almost like imagining Jared in bed- ew. Let's not go there. We stopped by my locker to retrieve the textbook I needed for my first period. "Well a girl can have morals as well as casual sex, let's not go around slut shaming."

"Sorry, did I say 'standards'? I totally meant 'undying love for Embry'."

I shut my locker closed, a bit louder than necessary as I gave him a deep frown. "Not cool man, not cool." We made our way over to his locker, having plenty of time until the first bell rang as well as it being located near my history class.

"Though I can get why you'd be nervous being a," he looked around exaggeratedly before turning back to me with a hushed voice, "virgin." He ducked as I lifted my hardcover textbook to hit him over the head with it, letting out a boisterous laugh. "You want to impress him, I get it."

I resisted the urge to hang my mouth open in a baffled expression at his accusation, choosing to keep an unphased demeanor. "I'm only a sophomore in highschool, I'm sorry my libido urges didn't take over as soon as puberty hit."

"Well if you need someone to practice on," he wiggled his brows at the hanging offer, finally opening his locker to drop in some books he had in his bag and wouldn't need until later.

I stuck my tongue out at him, my face reading that I'd rather not.

"It's ok though. Knowing him I doubt he's been touched." I shifted my eyes towards Paul as I leaned against the lockers besides his. I heard him mumble something along the lines of 'By hands other than his own I mean.' He closed his locker shut, turning to face me my curious gaze. "What?"

"How would you know?" I normally wasn't insecure. But what if he was wrong? What if he _had_ been with someone else that blew his mind? What if I'm not good enough- Wait, where was I going with this? I didn't even think that Embry looked at me in that kind of light let alone talked to him enough where we'd plan to have sex.

"Please, have you seen him?" Paul paused as he rethought his last question. "I mean like, have you seen him through the eyes of someone other than yourself? No, I didn't think so. He's the quiet timid kid in that trio of dorks. Girl's would rather flock over to Black before him, I hear them talk about it all the time."

"Mmm," I scrunched my lips to the side, in thought. "Really? I always thought Embry was the cutest out of all of them."

"I believe you're the only girl in this school who thinks that way."

"Exactly! What if it's another girl _outside_ of the school who's-"

"Lani." Paul snipped at me with a hard look. "You're overthinking things."

I pouted slightly at him, of all the things, over thinking about my crush on Embry was something I often did and something Paul and Jared didn't hesitate to point out. Something that the two had in common.

"Besides, do I have to remind you how low his game is? He called you fat last week when we played football. You never call a chick fat."

"He didn't call me fat."

"He pretended he couldn't breathe under you."

My head tilted into my shoulder, smiling at him cheekily. "Well maybe I knocked him off of his feet with my charm."

"Or your brute strength." He gave me another one of his shit eating smirks before reenacting last week. "You're legs got you pretty far-"

I slapped my hand over his mouth. Cutting him off with a warning look. "Besides you making fun of my lack of knowledge when it comes to flirting... I do have to talk to you about something." My mind wandered to the phone call with my cousin. "Have you talked to Jared lately?"

"Just as much as I had before, which was never. Why?"

I didn't weigh the pros and cons of telling him the truth, just going out with it. "Well the other day he told me to stay away from you, and I thought maybe he was just over reacting to something you guys might have talked about. The last time he was like that was at the beginning of our friendship when he was getting all 'Me big brother, him bad guy. He wants lady goods.'" Normally that caveman impression of Jared would get me an amused reaction or a condescending chuckle but Paul's face was void of any signs of entertainment. I even heard him let out a noise that I didn't recognize coming from him. "Did you just-did you growl?"

He ignored my question, seeming to mentally shake his head as he looked down, still frustrated. "I don't know what your cousin has against me but whatever it is, tell him he needs to man up and talk to me about it to my face." His sudden anger was a bit startling as I nodded absentmindedly. Paul placed a hand to my shoulder, his face softening. "We're best friends and nothing can stop that."

I gave him a nod, separating ways as we headed to our classes. I greeted Kim and let my mind wander, her voice going out the other ear as my attention went to my best friend. I didn't know how much his words would be later thrown back at me.

The following days he became more grouchy, irritated. He'd taken to going to the weight lifting room for gym. Normally I wouldn't have a problem, offering to work out with him but I felt him push me away little by little, eventually saying that he'd rather focus on his own. A part of me felt dejected, was I being too clingy? Had I returned to that point in the friendship where I worried about annoying him 24/7? Yes. Yes I had. Did I give up on trying to get him to turn that frown upside down? Not one bit.

When Monday rolled around, I was surprised to see the seat next to me occupied in first period. My brows shot to my hairline as I grinned at Jared, all previous thoughts of murdering him for lack of communication fleeing my head.

"Wow, you'd think after being so sick you'd look deathly but holy cow Jared. Did you secretly go away to bulk up and model for Abercrombie or something?"

He kept his gaze forward, the only sign of recognition I got was his lips tightening into a forced smile. I frowned at the reaction.

"Is everything okay Jare?" I heard him let out a sigh before turning to me.

"Leilani, we need to talk." I raised my brow, ushering him to continue. "I know I'm back now but I can't give you any rides anymore. After missing a lot of school I think I'm going to focus more on studying and getting back on track."

There was a small part of me that felt like he wasn't telling the truth, but when I thought about it, there was nothing to doubt. He did miss two weeks of school after all. "That's fine, I'll help you study whenever-"

"Alone, Leilani."

"Huh?"

He stared hard at me, like he was having an internal battle about something. "I need to study alone. We both know we'd just get distracted and start goofing off."

"Oh," I couldn't hide the downcast tone in my voice, nodding. He did have a point when it came to my attention span with studying. "Maybe we can hang out one day on the weekend then? Do some family bonding and catching up?"

"I can't. I have to study."

Still, couldn't help but feel a small pang in my feelings. Out of the corner of my eyes I spotted Kim making her way down the row to her seat. I gave her a small smile and half hearted wave. "Hey Kim."

Jared gave me a questioning look. I could practically hear him ask, 'Since when did you talk to Kim?' He turned in his seat to glance at her. Only his glance turned into a stare. A long one.

The rest of the class carried on and I felt completely ignored. Jared couldn't help but throw stealing glances at Kim and vice versa. They'd exchange a grin or two, he'd even elicit a giggle from her every now and then. Despite my mood, I couldn't help but feel happy for Kim. She's had such a long time crush on Jared and it seemed that he finally took the time of day to notice her back.

When gym class started, I found myself once again in the weight room, standing besides Paul as he sat, doing bench curls with heavy weights in each hand. I pulled the best friend card, forcing him to listen to me vent with arms crossed over my chest.

"Maybe I'm being self centered. I feel like a child that's not getting the attention they want and is whining about it to an adult. He's never acted like this before to me."

Paul was silent as he returned the dumbbells to their proper place, grabbing a heavier pair as he began another set of reps. The only sound he made was the occasional grunts. I lifted a brow to my forced companion, taking in his appearance. Was it me, or did he suddenly bulk up as well?

"Look Paul, we need to talk."

Paul threw a spare glance my way, before continuing his curls. "Don't tell me you're breaking up with me."

My lips lifted into half a grin, glad that he was able to throw a joke in there. "As happy as I am to here you joke, maybe we should talk about some other stuff. Like... are you taking anything someone shouldn't be taking? Illegal pre-workout shakes? Steroids?-"

"Steroids?" He stopped his workout as he stood to return the dumbbells. He turned to face me, mirroring my previous posture with arms crossed over his chest. "You think I'm desperate enough to take steroids?"

I looked up to him, more so than I normally had to, feeling a little intimidated by his change in demeanor. Paul was suddenly turning more and more into the Hulk. "Or maybe something that allows people to go through two growth spurts?" I wanted to stand my ground. I had after all, been in the rink with men nearly twice my size for non-competitive sparring matching. But something about seeing Paul this way made me take a step back. I noticed him observe my small motion of retreat, only encouraging his anger even more. I threw my hands defensively in front of me. "Paul, are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't mean anything by it-"

"Leilani!" My eyes shifted towards Embry as he made his way over towards me. He managed to bump into Paul, almost knocking him over the bench press. Paul quickly recovered and shoved Embry back.

"Watch it, Call." Embry turned to look at him incredulously, my face mirroring his own.

I made my way around and in between Embry and Paul, putting a hand to the latter's chest as I attempted to push him back. He didn't budge an inch. "Paul, what is wrong with you?"

He ignored my question, looking over my head to the other boy. "What's the matter, not man enough to fight your own battles?"

"Paul! Knock it off!" I used all of my force to shove him, effectively moving him back a few inches.

He gave me a sneer, finally looking at me. "Right, defend your boyfriend. Maybe you can teach him to grow a pair after you open your legs to him and show him what it's like to be a man."

Embry's voice called out from behind me. "What kind of a best friend are you to say something like that to her?"

He let out a cold and empty laugh. "Why are you even trying to defend her?" He leaned closer to him, his voice right beside my ear as he spoke. "She's nothing but a prude practice bag."

I stiffened at his cruelty. Never in our friendship had Paul been this brutal to me.

This wasn't my best friend.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I caught Embry side step me and make a go towards Paul. The taller of the two easily dodged his punch, and threw him into the weight rack. I shouted at Paul, making my way over to Embry's crumpled form on the floor.

"Lahote! Principle's office, NOW." The coach's voice called out through the oncoming whispers of our class.

I glanced at Paul, his stance rigid as he was breathing in and out heavily with clenched fists. The hurt look on my face was nothing compared to what Embry looked like. Paul seemed to take in the situation as a look of remorse filled his face before going back to his angry state. He threw a punch, effectively making a hole in the drywall of the weightlifting room.

My attention refocused on Embry, kneeling down beside him to help him up. He gave me a look through pained eyes.

"Are you okay?"

I let out a small chuckle, despite the roughness of my throat that fought the oncoming tears I could feel surfacing. "You were practically thrown into those weights, crumpled on the ground, and you're asking if _I'm_ okay?"

He winced at his attempt to sit up, putting a hand to his lower back where it hurt the most. "Woah, let's not make it sound like that for the sake of my ego. Was it really that pathetic?"

Embry's attempt at eliciting a smile from me was sadly working. I shook my head as I put his arm around my shoulders, slowly helping him up. "You made being thrown around look as manly as possible, you know, with your long locks spilling from its manbun and whatnot."

He faked a pout towards me, "It's just for gym to keep the hair out of my face." He threw a wink towards me. "Besides, don't act like you don't like the manbun."

The coach interrupted us, effectively giving me a chance to look away and disperse and red glow I had on my face. He asking Embry if he was alright. With reassurance to the coach, Embry told him he just needed to walk it off. Coach told me to take him to the nurse just incase, dismissing the rest of the class to continue their previous activities.

The walk towards the nurse's office started off quietly, until halfway there I decided to break the silence.

"Thank you." His curious gaze made me continue. "For defending me."

Embry shook his head. "You mean for being a human decent human being? Please. Best friend or not, anyone who talks to someone like that that deserves a punch or five in the face."

My eyes were downcast as I soaked in the replaying memories. That wasn't Paul talking. It had to have been the steroids, or whatever enhancements he was taking. Those things were known to increase aggression.

He spoke up at my quietness. "I couldn't help but notice things started to get tense between you two so I tried to do my best at intervening." We entered the school's clinic, noticing the missing nurse. She probably left for lunch break as it was around that time.

A snicker escaped my lips as I helped him onto one of the clinic beds. "Aren't you my knight in shining armor?"

He returned his comeback with a smirk, "And it seems that you'll have to be my nurse since there currently isn't one."

I bit the inside of my lip. 'Paul was so fucking wrong about his ability to flirt.'

"Lani?"

I slowly let out a breath of air I didn't realize I was holding, meeting his gaze. "Sorry, what?"

He laughed, shaking his head. He slowly lowered himself to lay back with my help. I told him that I'd return with a bag of ice for his back, hopefully before any major bruising would appear. Just as I reached the ice machine near the front of the clinic, I heard a ruffle of commotion around the corner. My curiosity got the best of me as I stood where I was, out of sight just behind the doorway.

The hushed whispers was loud enough for her to recognize the voice of her cousin. "Watch what the _fuck_ you say to my cousin, Lahote. You need to fucking control your anger before you do something you're going to regret."

"What the hell do you know?"

"I know more than you think."

My brows furrowed in confusion as I held the ice bag in my slowly numbing hands. Was Jared on steroids too? That would explain his muscles as well. I made my way back to Embry, helping him roll over to his stomach as he lifted the back of his shirt.

Had it not been for the deep bruise forming on his lower back I would've appreciated the sight of his russet skin. I gave him a small warning before placing the ice onto him, hearing him give a small hiss. I took a seat in the blue chair besides him. He turned his head that rested on his crossed arms to face me. "It's probably lunch time if you want to grab something to eat. You don't have to stay here with me y'know. I'm a big kid."

My eyes went from my twiddling fingers to his chocolate gaze. I gave him a sheepish look. "I don't mind staying here. Actually, if you don't mind I'd rather hide out in here than go to the cafeteria. I normally sit with Paul or my cousin but I don't think I'm on speaking terms with either one of them at the moment."

Embry gave me an easing smile that seemed to put my nerves at bay. "You're welcome to sit with me and my friends during lunch. I'm pretty sure Quil and Jacob wouldn't mind. Actually, Quil would be more than thrilled to have a girl notice him, yet alone sit at our table."

I let out a laugh, oblivious to the captured look on Embry's face. "That sounds great. I just might take you up on that offer. In the meantime, I'm going to fix this mess of your hair."

He let out a small groan. "Are you going to use this as an excuse to braid my hair?"

My actions paused. How did he know what I was going to do? I shrugged with a small giggle. "Be glad it's not going to be in pigtails." I gently pulled his hair from its restraints, pushing the hair band onto my wrist as I combed my fingers through his hair. I did this a few times, noticing how he closed his eyes with a pleased look on his face. I decided to test the waters, lightly running my nails across his scalp. His head lolled to the side, a small moan escaping his throat as he took a small nap. I smiled to myself as I continued to play with his hair. Once the nurse returned she kindly suggested I make my way towards my third period before it started.

"Don't worry hun, I'll take care of your boyfriend."

I tried to fight down the blush, being ushered out of the room before I could correct her. Despite the horrible day I was having, something good managed to happen out of it, and for that I was thankful.

True to his word, I began sitting with the Trio for the following weeks. Embry and I had began to hang out more: in the halls between classes, during lunch, and in the 2nd and 4th period classes we shared. Although I didn't want to say he was a replacement, he definitely kept my mind from overthinking about why my cousin did his best to avoid or blatantly ignore me. The same with Paul.

The latter of the two had left a single voicemail the day of the incident, after I forwarded his call, not wanting to speak to him at the time.

 _'Leilani... If there was a time for me to pull the best friend card, it'd be right now. Just hear me out please.'_ A pause as he tried to steady his breathing. _'No amount of words can emanate how sorry I am for my behavior. If you could find it in your heart to forgive me, I'd really, really appreciate it. If not then. Then that sucks but I'd understand. I'm sorry."_

I couldn't stay mad at Paul for long, it wasn't his fault he was acting this way. It was just the side effects of stupid steroids! I attempted to call back but all I got was his voicemail. No replies to the text messages either. Just like Jared he managed to slip away from school for the same amount of time.

It was one day during lunch that I made my way towards the new table I had taken accustom to, when I noticed Paul's return. He hadn't been in gym class earlier, had he just now arrived to school? I made my way to his table, noticing he was by himself with hands in his pocket and toothpick in his mouth.

I stood in front of him, making no motion to sit down. "Noticed you weren't in gym class earlier. Did you skip or just get to school?"

He didn't even spare a glance towards me as he kept chewing on his toothpick. "Switched classes. Got a whole new schedule." If the shock was apparent on my face, he didn't acknowledge it. Instead I felt another presence as Jared took a seat across from him, Kim settling besides him. I felt taken back. Since when did Paul and Jared hang out? I felt a pang of jealousy as Kim sent me a meek wave, acknowledging me unlike Jared and Paul. I bit my lip and returned the gesture, having the courtesy of doing so when she did nothing wrong. But why was she allowed there while I wasn't?

"So what, you both get 'suspended' from school, comeback and avoid me, and now you two are buddy-buddy? Am I not 'cool' enough to be friends with you guys anymore?"

Not getting anything else out of them, I gripped the tray in my hands. "Fine, I get it."

I walked passed them, catching Embry's worried glance from where he sat.

\- Leilani's POV - Present Day-

I relentlessly released my anger onto the punching bag, disregarding the forming tear until the bag ripped from it's hook, padding pushing through the shredded casing. I needed a new one: the rip had proven its worn out age. I moved towards the fallen target, the sweat dripping from my brow as I continued to pummel the bag as I straddled it. I let out a frustrated cry as I missed, my vision blurry from the oncoming tears. You know, the kind you'd get after being so done with everything. My knuckles connected with the concrete floor of the garage. I held my injured right hand to my chest, cradling it with my left hand as I let the tears flow. There would no doubt be some bruising there, at least.

I let myself cry in the place I felt the most safe in. My sanctuary.

I told myself I would never get attached to anyone again, but that was a difficult task itself. Isaac was evidence of that. I felt like no matter what happened, people were bound to come and go in my life. There was no permanent fixtures, no stability.

My dad was gone, my mom and sister are barely home because of their jobs, all the people I was once able to call my friends were gone, and the one friend I managed to make was left back in California, over a thousand miles away.

For the first time in my life I came to acknowledge the fact that I felt completely and utterly alone.

I hated it.

* * *

 **Hope at least one of you caught that small crossover reference :')**

 **(Don't worry, he won't be dragged into this story)**

 **Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! I know it was filled with a lot of back story.**

 **In the next chapter, Embry and Leilani meet again for the first time in months!**


	6. Chapter 6: Popcorn

**Thank you so much to capncaycay, SilverShadowWolf46, ajwehri, and the guest for reviewing!**

 **Happy Holidays Everyone! Here's some fluff stuff~**

* * *

 _"She's back... I saw her at the store today."_

 _"If that vampire follows Cadence home..."_

The urge to protect and to shield Leilani from any harm overcame me as my instincts took over. There would be more bonfires in the future for me to relive the tribe's legends, but right now my gut had this unsettling feeling that worsened over the past few days. It started off with a small pinchy feeling, like walking with a pebble in your shoe that you try to ignore at first. But now it felt like a small skewer was punctured and twisted into my abdomen. Hearing the news of Leilani's return and being at risk made me realize that it was the reason behind it.

My paws pounded against the forest floor, running fast towards the familiar path to her home. A familiar scent tickled my nose. The warm lavender smell becoming stronger as I reached the perimeter of the forest line, stopping just at the edge. From my spot, I was able to see her in her garage through the window and a bit through the door that was left ajar.

I smelt a thin tang of musk and salt intertwining with her familiar lavender. She was straddled on top of the fallen (and now heavily beaten up) punching bag, her shoulders slack as she cradled something to her chest. I couldn't tell from her back facing me. I could trace the smell of her sweat, literally hearing it as it dropped and splattered against the concrete flooring. My senses were all too focused on her. The saltiness flickered again through my nostrils as I heard a series of short intakes of air.

And then I heard it. A single heart wrenching cry as she began to weep.

She shifted her body to move from the punching bag, twisting in her position and moving to sit beside it. I saw her bring an injured hand closer to chest, knees bent like she was in her own cocoon.

When I first found out she left, I had been shocked at her sudden move. When I tried to talk to her, to hear her reason, she never returned my calls, my messages, or emails. Nothing. There was no explanation. But then it didn't take much before I felt a tinge of her emotions, the strong misery of heartache. We had built a friendship, strengthened it, and right when we reached the peak before we could be something more, I pushed her off. I broke her trust.

I remember being a whirlwind of emotions afterwards. I went from wallowing over her absence, desperately trying to reach her to get her to come back, to even small windows of being angry at her for never giving me time to tell her the honest truth.

Having an imprint was the best and worst thing in you could have in your life.

You knew who you were to spend the rest of your days with. You knew there was an unbreakable bond magnified over a hundred times where you could feel what they were feeling. It was like the cheat sheet to finding your soulmate.

I thought her leaving was the worst pain I'd ever feel. Yet seeing her crumpled in her own sadness while I couldn't do a damn thing was beyond comparable.

Another cry refocused my attention to her as she shakily held her sheltered hand out to inspect it. Her knuckles were a mixture of red and purples. I could smell small specks of blood from her broken skin.

I didn't like the scene in front of me one bit. I wanted to go to her, craving to have her in arms reach. I wanted to apologize for everything in the past and promise her the world for a better future.

A whine escaped my wolfish lips. Her posture turned rigid as her head snapped upwards towards me, unsure if she could actually see me or not from where I was.

I regretted not thinking about changing out of my clothes before phasing and bringing it along with me. It's not like I could just come out of the woods naked and hug her. I don't think she'd take that all too well.

She let out a sniffle, coming to a stand as she brought her wrist back to her chest. She walked out of her garage, stopping after a few steps. Her posture was straight, unafraid as she searched for something to show up.

I should've taken this as my cue to leave, and I almost did make it out of there. I raised myself and carefully avoided any twigs or branches that would've crunched unnecessarily loud to draw her towards me. Yet even without a sound from me, she made her way closer, now standing halfway between the forest and her home.

"Come out of there," she daringly called out, taking another step.

I let out a small huff of air. What if I wasn't me and instead a vampire? Leilani needed to know when to walk away from her curiosity. Calling out like that was just asking for danger. I'd need to have a talk with her about that in the future.

"I can see you from here!" True to her words, her eyes were fixed in my general direction. They were squinted, barely being able to be seen in the dark. The only thing illuminating the backyard was the light fixture hanging beside her garage door, hardly reaching where I was.

Once again, I should've left at this moment but a part of me couldn't. I was entranced in her presence. My thoughts ran amuck as I processed what I should do. The proper thing would be to be able to talk to her again as my normal self, apologize for everything, try to regain her trust and explain everything to her, tell her the truth, _and then_ introduce her to my wolf self (had she taken the information well).

But what did I do?

I absentmindedly lowered myself on all fours and slowly crawled towards her, still hidden from her clear view. It wasn't until my right paw reached the root of a tree that I stopped myself. I took in a break of air before breathing out, holding my paw out into view with my head peaking out.

There were so many times when I wanted to do this after I first phased. To have her meet me, the wolf me, but Sam had banned me from it. He told me that I needed to learn how to control myself before I could do so.

Her expression eased into a soft sight, a small smile playing on her face as she wiped the dry tears from her face. "Oh, it's just a stray dog." She bent over, holding her good hand out to me and cooing. "Come here, puppy-puppy."

I slowly continued, making it halfway out before I stood on all fours from my crouching position. I could pinpoint the moment in time that she registered my true size, falling over on her behind as she began to scramble backwards.

"Oh my god- that's a freaking wolf horse!" She held still, a few yards from where she stood previously. I lowered myself back down and whimpered at her retreat. It seemed to break her from her panic as she looked at me with a scrutinizing expression, trying to decipher what to do.

I didn't budge an inch forward, afraid of scaring her away. I laid on my stomach and lowered my head to my paws, whining once more.

I heard her take a deep breath in as she slowly brought herself back up, and cautiously stepped closer to me. It felt like years before there was just a few feet separating us. I lifted my head, tilting it like a curious puppy. That seemed to bring another smile onto her face.

"You're kinda cute, despite your monstrous size."

I lowered my head again, looking up to her in hopes that she'd get my clue.

"You... You want me to pet you?"

I let out a small yip, almost nodding my head eagerly in a 'yes' fashion. She raised a brow at me.

"You seem to be really smart to be responding to me like that." She paused with pursed lips, finally raising her good hand out. "Let's hope that I'm also smart and won't regret this decision later." She made her way closer to me. I could hear the pounding of her heart, afraid of me making any sudden moves.

An eternity passed before her hand made contact with my grey fur, easing from a hesitant touch to a soft petting. I nudged her hand, encouraging her to break her shyness. She took the hint and raked her nails against me that had my tongue hanging from my mouth. I rolled to my side, showing her my stomach as she dropped herself to her knees, continuing to scratch me.

"This is it." She said almost with a dead panned expression. "I've officially begun to hallucinate from fatigue. Maybe I accidentally hit my head to the floor instead of my fist."

A good half hour of scratching and petting me was enough to have her comfortable around me as she nestled into the side of me, laying perpendicular against me as I was once again on my stomach.

"You're really a giant... mutant puppy." I could hear the exhaustion in her voice as she drawled out her words. Her fingers ran through the spot atop of my head, a small yawn escaping her lips. "Cadence would kill me if she came home to you in our living room."

I let out a small laugh, or what could be considered as a laugh taken my present form. I swiveled my head around to spot her injury, leaning over to lightly lick it. She did nothing against me as I curled closer to her.

We laid there for a while, a soft snoring becoming present to my ears. I turned to look at her now sleeping form. Her face was held in content. I turned to look at our surroundings, taking in her home. Most of the lights were off and I didn't smell Cadence nearby. Carefully, I removed myself from her, easing her to the grass so I wouldn't wake her up. I ran into the woods, phasing back to my human self and acting quickly before someone thought I was a maniac.

A crazy, naked maniac carrying an unconscious girl back into her home.

I returned to Leilani, being mindful to her injury as I picked her up in my arms and quickly walked towards her back door. I managed to open it and make my way to her bedroom, using my memory to the best of it's ability. I carefully laid her down onto her bed, taking off her shoes and pulling back the comforter to tuck her back in.

I ran my fingers along her forehead and nearly melted at her easing herself into my touch. I ran a thumb lightly against her lips as I bent down to place a soft kiss against her forehead.

I straightened myself and decided that I should quickly go before she woke up. I wouldn't really have a good excuse if she caught me in my... bare state. I nearly laughed as I caught my reflection in the mirror, but a photo next to it drew my attention. Besides the ones of her with her family, at the top line of photos was one of her and a blonde, blue-eyed man. They seemed... uncomfortable close and cozy to one another. Who was he and why was his arms wrapped around Leilani like that? He felt a searing tinge of jealousy flow through himself as he noticed how carefree and happy she had looked.

Had she found someone else? He tore his gaze away as he exited her room and soon her house. That photo would be etched into his memory as he recalled the words of Sam.

 _'Imprinting is a rare thing and having someone reject you is even rarer. Regardless of their decision, you must be there for them anyway you can, anyway they want you to. Despite my thoughts on imprinting being the reason to raise stronger warriors and to protect our tribe, you have to be what they want you to be, regardless as a lover or a friend.'_

'A friend.' He shifted back into his wolf form as he decided to take his time to return to his pack. Selfish as it was, Embry didn't want to have to be just her friend. She had to have known that. She came back for a reason and he wanted to believe it was for a second chance to redeem himself to her. He ended up back at his place, phasing back to his human self and reaching under a loose board at the backyard of his porch where he kept a case of backup cut-offs if need be. He entered his house after changing, making his way to his bed, plopping down onto it as he laid back and stared off into the ceiling. He closed his eyes, thinking about what he going to do before falling into a light slumber and dreaming about his past memories with his imprint.

 **\- Embry's POV - 7 months ago -**

We were sprawled out on the couch of my living room, both at opposite ends as the open textbooks lay forgotten on the coffee table in front of us. Our attention was focused on the third installment of the X-Men series playing on my TV.

A piece of popcorn bouncing off of my head turned my attention towards Leilani, a bored smile on her face as she threw another one towards me. I quickly opened my mouth and failed at catching it in my mouth, drawing out a chuckle from her form.

"We're so screwed for this chemistry exam tomorrow."

I gave her a look as I reached for the bowl of popcorn, turning the game around. "Maybe you are but I'm a natural when it comes to science."

She snorted, missing the popcorn and reaching over to pick it up from her lap and place it into her mouth. "Says the kid who said H2O stood for Carbon Monoxide."

"Shut up, I was thinking of HO."

"That's hydroxide, idiot!" She bursted into laughter at the cut look I gave her. I threw a handful of popcorn at her face, returning the laugh at her expression. I'd be mindful to clean up the mess after my mom came home from work today. She let out a gasp as she sat up and jumped on me, attempting to pin me down so she could tickle me.

Things like this quickly became a normal thing for us. I was easily comfortable around Leilani, and vice versa. We had been hanging out for a few months now and she fit into my group of friends, almost like she had always been friends with all of us for the longest of time. While she was another person I could open up to about everything, she was special to me in a way the other two guys weren't. Well for one, she was a girl. And two, she was a girl I had a crush on since middle school.

"Give up, Cameron!"

"You're in no position to demand such things, Call!"

We both struggled for dominance, attempting to fighting off each other's tickling hands of doom. The room echoed in our laughter as we rolled onto the floor, still fighting like children. We didn't hear the door open as Jacob and Quil watched with amused looks from behind the couch. The shorter of the two deciding to make their presence known.

"Woah, is this a bad time? Cause I'd hate to a cockblock."

Both of our heads popped out from our side of the couch, myself clearing my throat as I gave Quil a hard stare at his implications. Leilani just giggled as she picked up a kernel and flung it at him. She began to pick up the rest of the fallen pieces as I fixed the pillows on the couch.

"What brings you guys here?" I turned towards Jacob. "I thought you were going to hang out with that bird girlfriend of yours today."

Jacob let out a sigh as he and Quil sat on the other couch adjacent to ours, "Her names Bella _Swan_. And no, she had other plans today."

Leilani moved to sit beside me, an action that Quil slyly wiggled his eyebrows at me for while she wasn't paying attention. I shook my head at him. I swear I was going to kill him one day.

"Aww, Jacob's finally got a date that wasn't me?"

That statement had both Quil and I's heads whipping towards her, simultaneously going 'Whaaat?' And 'You two dated?!'

Jacob shook his head and laughed at us. "Our older sisters are best friends. When we were younger they thought they could try and get us together so that we'd eventually get married and they'd become family."

"Despite the fact that we were like, eleven and didn't really like eachother." Leilani chimed in.

"But don't worry Em," Jacob slapped a hand to my knee with a cheeky grin. "I'm not here to steal your girl away."

Alright. Jacob just made his way onto the top of my hit list. I fought the redness heating my face. Watching as Quil sneaked a high-five to him. _Real mature, guys._ I'd remember to have my revenge later on whenever I'd come around to see Bella.

"Please," Leilani cut in. "I'm just another one of the guys around here."

I felt a part of me dimming in the hopes of eventually confessing my feelings to her. I think Quil saw this on my face, quickly changing the subject.

"So, Byron's holding a party tomorrow night. His parents are going to be out of town so he's going all out with inviting the whole school, again. You should go too, Leilani! It'd be a nice relief after taking Smith's chem exam during last period. We'll all be there to let loose, right Em?" I nodded my head casually and looked over to her.

"Well, I won't be there cause I'm going to the movies with Bella, but you guys should definitely go." Jacob spoke up. "Everyone looks forward to his parents leaving town on a business trip."

I heard Quil's voice take a playful tone."You can even invite that Gordon kid people say you talk about a lot." I mentally screamed at him, that light for confessing my feelings to Leilani dimming even more as her face lit with a bright redness spreading across her cheeks. "What is he by the way ...a family friend? ...Boyfriend?"

Leilani's sentence broke out into a stutter as she absent mindedly played with the hem of her shirt. "He's just a good friend of mine." I felt uncomfortable at her response, but forced a smile to my face when I remembered Lahote making a sly joke with Leilani when she ended up tackling me in a game of football, a while back. I would be a real asshole if I didn't want her to be happy, so I had to suck it up. We were friends first and if that's all I could have her as then I'd take it. But I couldn't promise myself that I wouldn't be jealous of this guy.

"I could pick you up before the party," I decided to offer. Half of me wanted to spend more time with her while the other half wanted to be an excuse so that Gordon wouldn't. "Unless," I started hesitantly, "You're going to ask Gordon to take you?"

"Uh," She paused in thought. "No, I wasn't going to ask him. I'll probably see him there anyways." Her cell phone began ringing. She excused herself before stepping out of the room. "Be right back, Cay is calling me."

As soon as she left I turned to give Quil a jab in the shoulder. "Dude, what the hell?"

He rubbed the sore spot before questioning me. "Whaaat?" Our voices were in hushed whispers.

"Are you trying to ruin my chances with her, inviting Gordon?"

"You weren't going to ask so I did. I wanted to know who he was. I was trying to help you out man!"

"Oh yeah, you two were doing _such_ a great job with that, slick comments and facial expressions, everything. Totally didn't give anything away."

"Em," Jacob interjected. "Are you blind, you guys are definitely into each other. So what if she has a crush on him, go for it this weekend and let her know how you feel."

"Says the kid who hasn't been able to confess his feelings to the girl he's going to the movies with, tomorrow."

Jacob blushed, eating his own words. "I'm going to, tomorrow. We're going to watch a scary flick and I'm hoping she'll jump onto me so I can tell her how I feel."

Before I could make a comment, Leilani returned into the room, telling us that her sister wanted her home before it got dark. Quil and Jacob took this as their cue to leave, while Leilani and I got into my car so I could drive her home. The drive was a comfortable silence, myself engrossed in thoughts on how I'd hope this weekend would play out. I glanced my eyes to see her sitting with a content smile on her face, watching the scenery out of the window.

Something that I noticed about her was that she was easily entertained and found contentment with the littlest of things. She didn't dwell on things too long and took them as they came. She was thoroughly engaged with the world with an open heart. She wasn't blinded by the negativity she encountered but she wouldn't let it hinder her. That was a quality that I loved about her.

I pulled into her driveway, parking my car as she undid her seatbelt and turned to me. "Do you wanna hang out for a little? I can finally show you my favorite spot to hang out."

My head nodded with a grin. Our hangouts normally consisted of us either at my place, or somewhere along the reservation. There were a few times where I briefly hung out in her living room but her sister slightly intimidated me whenever she came around. Not that I'd tell her that. I hopped out of my truck, following her to the garage besides her house and to say the least, I was more than impressed.

"Quite a man cave you have here."

She took in a proud breath of air with her hands on her hips as she took in her settings like I currently was doing. "Yeah, well. It's my comfort zone."

My eyes traveled to the older car to the left. I let out an appreciative whistle. "Sweet car."

She grinned as she made her way over to it, myself following besides her. She placed a loving hand on the hood. "It was my dads." I felt a bite of guilt, bringing up her deceased father. She had told me many stories and precious memories she had with him before the accident. "He won it in a bet with my uncle way back when they were younger. Don't ever tell Jared, but this baby could have been his." She let out a fond laugh, a glaze look coming her eyes. "We used to get together every now and then, my dad and I when he was free, and I'd help him fix her up. He told me when she was good to go that I'd get to have her."

This was a girl who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Had Jacob known about this, I don't think he'd let someone like Leilani slip through his fingers. A woman who'd rather work under the hood than pose on top of it.

I think I just heard my heart stutter.

"My mom tells me to sell it for parts to buy a newer car but I can't find it in myself to do it. Too much memories here."

I lifted my chin curiously. "I never asked, but how're you with your mom? I know you told me she's out a lot because of work."

She softly shook her head. "It's not what a lot of people think; the working mother leaves her children to grow bitter in their mom's absence." She placed a hand on her hip as she leaned on it. "My mom does it, partly to pay for my sister's tuition, partly to save for my future college funds. I love her for everything she's done us. Sometimes she offers to help out with Lilo." I smiled at the nickname she gave her red car. It matched with her favorite Disney movie.

I crossed my arms over my chest as I looked at her. "Well if you need any help, I'd be glad to offer my assistance."

She stood in front of me with a slight look of surprise. "You know your way around a car? I mean like, besides just driving it and filling up the tank?"

I looked at her, almost offended. "And here I thought you knew me. To be honest, I was a bit shocked to find out this fact. Total tomboy, should've guessed. Don't tell Quil, but knowing more about cars is the reason why Jake and I are closer."

"I'm sorry, it's just that whenever we're with Jake in his garage you seemed to, y'know, not help him out and Quil just kinda squabbles around."

I chuckled at her, remembering all the times Jake called us useless for lounging around the garage instead of assisting him. "Speak for yourself, I barely see you helping out either." I averted my gaze to the car as I continued. "You distract me from helping him."

The silence had me cautiously glancing at her. She held a shy smile, biting the inside of her lips that I eyed for a second longer than I should have. I licked my lips, unable to hold back the grin on my face. I found myself gravitating towards her, giving her plenty of time to move away if she found my advance unwanted. I opened my mouth to speak, only to have her sister call out from the inside their house.

I cleared my throat and stepped back, taking it as a sign to save it for another day. I didn't notice the disappointed look on her face that she quickly hid. "I'll take this as my cue to head out." I began my exit, turning towards her once I reached the doorway. "So I'll see you tomorrow night, right?"

She beamed at me, nodding her head as she followed me out of the garage, turning off the lights behind her. "Yup, you'll see me. Thanks again for everything Embry, I really appreciate it." She stood on her tiptoes, engulfing me in a hug and watching me make my way to my truck. She finally entered her house when I began to pull out of the driveway.

By the time I reached my house and settled into my bed I noticed my phone light flashing, alerting me of a new message.

 _From: Lani_

 _'Need a job? I know a girl who would really really appreciate the help with rebuilding a car. There's no pay but she'd forever be in your debt.'_

 _From: Lani_

 _'Maybe even let you drive her car a couple of times when everything works.'_

I smiled warmly at the message. Jacob's advice ringing in my head as the dim light began to illuminate a brighter glow.

 _From: Embry_

 _'Let me know when I start :)'_

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 **Huehuehue, I enjoy writing scenes with the Quil-Jake duo tag teaming and teasing Embry.**

 **The flashback scenes are getting closer and closer to** _ **THE NIGHT**_ **. *dundundunnn***

 **I'll definitely put a lemon warning at the top of the chapter and right before it happens, just in case.**

 **Let me know what you guys think, review :D**


	7. Chapter 7: Just an Inkling

AN: Guess who won the worst award for not updating their story? This author right here! Honestly, reviewing this story I wasn't really happy with the way things were turning out but I couldn't just leave you guys hanging. I personally hate when that happens _

I'm going to be focusing on defining Leilani's character and get into her sister because she will become more important as the story goes on :d

I will also be switching to third person to play around and see if I like that style better. Please give me feedback on what you guys think about it.

Also! I've made a tumblr for this story, as well as other stories, where I can post images. My user name is Demeter Lin !

Now, back to the story!

* * *

 **\- Present Day –**

First Leilani felt the warmth of the sun's rays. Then she felt the coolness of her comforter. The crinkles of the fabric reached her ears as she slowly woke from her slumber. Her eyelids opened, confusion set in her gaze at her current location. Trying to recall last night's events, her eyes widened at the memory of coming into contact with an over sized wolf.

She shot up from her laying position. How was that even possible? There were no wolves in La Push. It surely must've been one of her dreams. She reached up, running a hand through her hair. She flinched at a sharp pain, strands of her hair gliding against raw flesh. Cradling her hand to her chest, she observed the wounds from letting out her pent up frustrations.

So last night definitely happened. Or at least most of it.

After questioning the timeline of events for five minutes, she settled on the only logical explanation she could come up with.

It was set into her head that after pummeling the ground, she had went up to her room and knocked out from exhaustion.

Deciding to not spend another moment questioning what happened, she got up from her bed and headed towards the kitchen to grab something to eat, but not before properly wrapping her injury.

Upon entering the kitchen, a bright yellow sticky note against the stainless steel fridge called to her attention.

 _Gone to Olympia for the weekend, be back Monday. Wish me luck on closing the deal with this new company!_

 _Love you both and stay safe,_

 _Mom_

The sudden attention to the lack of any noise within the household made her wonder if she was home alone.

"…Cadence?" The lack of an answer only confirmed it.

She quickly threw together a breakfast. And by the term "breakfast" she meant a few pieces of buttered toast thrown into the toaster. Her appetite was surprisingly small today.

At the ding of the toaster, she collected the bread into a napkin and nibbled on one as she made her way to the garage.

Oh Lilo, her beloved car that she left behind after her sudden move to a different city. It had been too long since she last spent time working on her. Leilani was proud of its current situation verses its previous status. Last year the car had been tireless, propped up on cement blocks with a broken radiator, malfunctioning wiring, and all sorts of other problems that wouldn't allow the automobile to properly function safely. Now, it had all four tires, operating brakes that didn't deafen someone with its screeching, and a fixed radiator. There were only a few more problems that needed to be fixed before Lilo was all set to hit the road.

She decided today would be the day that she'd start fixing her baby again, and that required making a trip to Forks where a part that she needed was only available. After finishing her breakfast, she cleaned up and got ready for the day. She was fortunate that her mom had bought her a car to get her from point A to point B. It wasn't anything fancy, a 2000 Nissan Sentra, but it worked and gave her mom comfort in the hopes that Leilani would stop working on the car that she truly wanted. Once Lilo was all patched up, she thought about wanting to sell her current car and use the profits to buy her mom something to show her how appreciative she is of her. She had practically been working nonstop since her father had passed away.

The trip to the auto store plus the wait in line to make her purchase was a bit too long for her liking. Lately she didn't like the opportunity for her thoughts to run amok. They normally went to places she didn't want to remember.

For instance, she thought about herself and how she changed within the six months that passed. It was such a short amount of time that passed by too slowly but it was enough for her to become reclusive and build a wall of trust issues.

She had eventually learned how to open up to Embry, and be comfortable around him. She grew out of overthinking and the inciting awkward moments between them. Their friendship had intensified and strengthened her harboring emotions towards him.

After getting over what happened with Jared and Paul, everything started going downhill again once he stopped hanging out with her (as dramatic as that sounds).Then Jacob followed. And Quil too. She was convinced that there was something wrong with her. It didn't help when she found out that they were all hanging out with each other.

'Just without me…' she would think over and over again, further instigating her urge to leave and start over.

Moving to California was a definite change, especially in the weather. If there was ever a chance that she was grateful for her mom's occupation, it was her sealing a business deal with a company in another state. This company was bigger than the ones she was used to handling finances for, but it was a step forward in her career. It'd mean that she'd be away every week Monday through Friday for a while, only returning home for the weekends. This would go on for a couple of months until she trained someone else in the company enough to handle finances properly and to understand what she'd need once she moved back home to Washington. After that would be less occasional visits for conferences and meetings that she'd have to handle in person.

Her mom had noticed her withdrawal from things and overall change in demeanor, eventually getting enough out of her to where she agreed a new start could be a good idea. She had managed to pull some strings and come to an agreement with the company. Rather than pay for her flights every weekend, they would pay for housing in a cozy sized apartment. Cadence would stay and take care of their home in Washington to finish her studies and Leilani would go to the local high school.

Most of her venting would be to her older sister via Skype, or the visits every now and then, taking turns on who would visit who.

Her reclusive personality eventually lead to meeting one of her closest friends, Isaac. She liked to avoid people and sneak a quiet lunch in the library. It was that very place where she befriended him. It started with him being unable to bend down and reach a book on a lower shelf, due to a personal injury. Then they both realized how often they'd see each other throughout the day, becoming friends and bonding over their own stories of their personal struggles.

At one point he too had suddenly disappeared, emerging Leilani once again into her greatest fear. But unlike the others, he came back. His personality and level of confidence had changed, but he was still there for her and she appreciated that. He slowly got her to open up again, befriending a few others that overcame their own demons. However she never fully opened up to Isaac, much less to the others, feeling they were all hiding something from her.

She was supposed to be away for a few months, but the worker that her mom was training had suddenly quit so they had to wait until they found another person, only to start the process all over again.

Leilani had taken the long way back to her car from the store, halting in her tracks upon noticing a familiar face through the glass of a small diner. She lifted her free hand, waving at her sister who sat facing her in a booth. Across from her seat was someone she couldn't see, but could tell it was a male.

Cadence immediately waved back, motioning for her to come inside and join her. Leilani checked her phone for the time. Having a few minutes to spare she entered the diner and made her way towards the table. She couldn't help but notice the way her sister turned her attention back towards the guy. The way Cay's eyes lit up as she talked brought Leilani to the conclusion that this was the Zeke she's been hearing about. She stopped at the side of the table, not moving to take a seat just yet.

Cadence patted the seat next to her, motioning for her sister to sit down. She turned back to male in front of her. "Lani, this is Zeke. Zeke, my sister: Lani."

Zeke had short locks of black hair. Well, they weren't short per se, but they definitely were nowhere near as long as many Quileute men had their hair. He had neatly groomed scruff along his chin, and light amber eyes that met her gaze with a charming smile.

"Ah, so this is the Lani that Cay constantly talks about. It's great to finally meet you."

Something about him seemed… off. Just off. Despite him seeming to have a warm personality, something about him seemed… cold. Not cold in a fake, two-faced way but almost unreal. Beautifully so.

Leilani took a seat, trying to ignore the small nagging feeling in her gut as she took the decency to return his kindness with a smile. She turned towards her sister.

"Well, It's about time I meet him, your…?" She left her sentence unintentionally hanging. Her sister never had confirmed that they were dating officially so she didn't want to assume their relationship status and make things awkward.

She feared it was too late as the hesitance was apparent in Cadence's eyes. Her sister's gaze flickered to the male, unsure of what to call what they were as well.

"Uh, he's just my fr-"

"Boyfriend."

Zeke had finished her sentence. It sounded like her sister was about to say 'friend' but she was just as surprised as Leilani was at his declaration. She smiled at her sister who was grinning from ear to ear, blushing like crazy. Zeke was just as entranced by Cadence as Cadence was to him. She stayed for a few minutes longer and engaged in small talk before leaving the happy couple to themselves. She didn't want to intrude on their time together, deciding to then make her way back to her car.

Leilani couldn't lie. On the drive home she kept dabbling in her thoughts about Cadence and Zeke. She's met many of Cadence's previous boyfriends, and though she hated some more than the others, she had never seen her sister react to them the way she had with Zeke. She should be happy for them, really she should. But just as before she couldn't help the feeling in her gut about him. She felt guilty, having such an inkling towards him when she didn't even know him yet.

It began raining on her way home. The pitter patter of the drops hitting her windshield soothed her and took her from reality, shortening the time that it would take to reach her destination. After pulling up into the driveway and parking her car, she made her way back towards her garage.

She placed her purchase on the table, stepping back to stretch and prepare herself for the work she was going to put in. A groan escaped her lips as she felt her lower back crack.

"Definitely needed that." She grinned to herself and popped the hood of her car, propping it up to stay open. A sudden shift in the air became apparent as she got a feeling of anxiousness. She hesitated in her movement, hand outstretched to the new part lying on the wooden table.

A familiar tune blared from her pocket, alerting her of a call. Her hand changed its course, instead picking up the phone to see Isaac's face on her screen.

"Hello?"

He chuckled before he spoke, _"Been a long time since I heard that angelic voice."_

Leilani's eyes rolled at his blatant flirting. None the less, she had missed him and was due for a phone call. "You don't know how much I miss you right now."

" _Uh oh, how are things going back home?"_

She had taken a seat in a swivel chair, absentmindedly swaying her self from side to side. "I feel like I made a bad choice. I should've stayed over there, at least for a bit longer." She leaned backwards, sitting sideways on the chair as her back leaned against the table and an arm on the backrest. "How are things back at Beacon Hills?"

" _Couldn't tell you, to be honest. I'm not there right now."_

"What? Where are you now?"

There was a pause before he answered her. _"Traveling. Y'know, here and there. You can say I was inspired by you and wanted to start over. But enough about me, what's my Lani up to?"_

She decided not to call out his sudden change of topic, instead answering him as she sat back up, still swiveling from side to side. "Remember my car that I told you about? The one that I've always wanted to fix? Well I've decided to do _something_ with my life and-" A loud shriek escaped her throat as she dropped her phone, a hand holding the pounding heart in her chest. There was a visitor that silently entered her garage. True the garage door was wide open and the rain that was picking up could've muffled any sounds she normally would've noticed, but she was scared shitless none the less.

Embry stood before her wearing nothing other than jean cut offs and an alarmed look on his face. His hair was sticking to his face, wet from rain. She knew after they stopped hanging out that he had grown from that lanky kid Paul would make fun of, but just within the time span of six months he had seemed to already grow into a man. His chest heaved with every breath he took, trying to calm him self down as if he had been running.

That same feeling of anxiousness found itself again within her.

"Leilani." His voice was gruff. Deep. It elicited a response within her that she was unhappy with, denying the relief she felt at seeing him again.

How many times had she imagined countless situations and how she'd react to seeing him again, not even being sure if it were to ever happen. The scenarios were she could go about it in a calm manner or wittedly tell him off.

Yet here she was, barely able to get his name out of her mouth.

" _Lani?! Is everything okay?!"_ Isaac's panicked voice brought her from her stupor. She quickly picked up her fallen phone, telling him in that she'll call him back before ending the call. She'd have to apologize to him later, but now she had to face the issue before her.


End file.
